An on-call firefighter has died while battling a fire at an Airbnb northwest of Sydney.
About 8am on Tuesday, emergency services were called to a house fire on Grose Vale Rd in Grose Vale, about 10km west of Richmond.
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Michael Kidd, 51, was among the frontline crew for Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) who responded to the blaze at the multi-million dollar property.
7NEWS understands Kidd collapsed after he was hit by a falling beam.
His colleagues performed CPR, but he was unable to be revived. He died at the scene.
NSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell described Kidd’s death as a tragedy.
“Very, very sadly … unfortunately, despite the efforts of all those people and the respective services, the firefighter was declared deceased on the scene,” he said.
Michael served part-time for FRNSW and was also a volunteer for the Rural Fire Service (RFS), with his colleagues describing him “as a true legend and hero”.
RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers told 7NEWS the incident was “just awful”.
“It just goes to show how dangerous firefighting is, whether it’s fighting a house fire or fighting a bushfire … it’s incredibly dangerous,” he said.
“Our heart goes out to the firefighter’s family and the fire rescue family.”
A crime scene has been established.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage.
FRNSW said it was providing support to the man’s family and his crew and are “working with other authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident”.
“Our condolences are with the firefighter’s family, friends and colleagues at this tragic time,” a spokesperson said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
